CMI’s CEO Janne Taalas attended the Nikkei Forum in Tokyo from 10–11 June on “the future of Asia”. Ambassador Taalas spoke on the growing importance of mediation diplomacy and the role being played by middle powers.
Dr. Janne Taalas, CMI’s CEO, last week attended the Nikkei Forum in Tokyo, a significant international gathering of political, economic, and academic leaders from the Asia-Pacific region.
Held by Nikkei every year since 1995, it is considered one of the most important global forums in Asia and is a platform for discussions on regional issues and the role of Asia in the world.
Taalas was a speaker on a panel on 10th June, entitled, ‘The growing importance of mediation diplomacy and the role to be played by middle powers’, moderated by Akiko Horiba, Director of the Center for Mediation Support at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
Speaking alongside Ambassador Taalas were Yoko Kamikawa, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan; Jafri Abdul Jalil, Deputy Director General at the Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia; and Mohamed Said Al Busaidi, Oman’s Ambassador to Japan.
The panel discussion explored the growing importance of mediation, dialogue, and peaceful conflict resolution and beyond “at a time when armed conflicts continue in many parts of the world and major powers increasingly rely on coercive measures and deterrence”.
In Taalas’ contributions, he focused on how CMI engages with governments, regional organisations, and local actors in peace processes.
He noted that NGOs and private actors cannot replace state actors but can complement them: by creating channels of communication, supporting negotiation processes and helping parties identify politically viable pathways toward peace.
Taalas also made the point that as wars and conflicts are increasingly internationalised and involve a multitude of stakeholders, then mediation continues to require multi-track approaches.
CMI works across formal and informal tracks, he explained, helping connect political leaders, regional organisations, experts and local stakeholders.
The forum was also attended by other high-profile figures, including the President of Timor-Leste, the Prime Ministers of Laos and Malaysia, and the Deputy Prime Ministers of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
In Asia, CMI works with national actors and builds connections with regional and international networks. A central tenet of CMI’s strategy is to strengthen networks and foster connections with emerging and established global and regional peacemaking actors all over the world.
In April, Ambassador Taalas spoke at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, an event he described as a “key node for mediation”.
